CHIPS Articles: U.S. Navy History and Week in Review

Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Celebrates 96 Years of Ordnance Support to the Fleet — Aug. 7 marked the 96th anniversary of ordnance support to the U.S. Navy from Naval Weapons Station (WPNSTA) Yorktown. This support has been provided since 1918, when President Woodrow Wilson signed a presidential proclamation establishing the Navy Mine Depot at Yorktown. Every year, more than 90,000 tons of ordnance is loaded on and off Navy, Coast Guard and allied ships.

NASA, Navy Prepare for Orion Spacecraft to Make a Splash — In December, NASA’s new Orion spacecraft will splash into the Pacific Ocean after its first space flight test, and a U.S. Navy ship will be standing by to retrieve it from the waters. Earlier this week, a series of scenario tests were successfully conducted with Orion in preparation for the splashdown.

Central, South America partners gather for PANAMAX 2014 in Mayport — More than 320 military personnel are taking part in PANAMAX 2014, an exercise which focuses on developing strong working relationships between multinational forces to ensure the defense of the Panama Canal. Participants from 15 nations, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the United States, gathered ahead of the exercise on Aug. 4 at Naval Station Mayport. PANAMAX is set to run from Aug. 8-15.

Jam Session: New ONR Technology Helps Sailors on the Digital Frontier — Officials announced Aug. 5 that this year’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise had provided the setting for the debut of a new system that could “transform the future of electronic warfare and defense of ships at sea.” Electronic Warfare Battle Management (EWBM) for Surface Defense, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), will help Sailors and Marines “coordinate electronic countermeasure responses to inbound threats faster than is possible through traditional voice communications, reducing the need to respond with expensive munitions.”

Lincoln Sailors Save Navy $6 Million — As part of the refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), the PM13 deck removal team saved the Navy nearly $6 million. The team was made up of Sailors from departments throughout the ship, many of whom had never before used the tools required for tile removal. A cake cutting ceremony was held Aug. 6 to celebrate the completion of the project, and the PM13 deck removal team was duly recognized for their efforts by Lincoln’s commanding officer, Capt. Karl O. Thomas.

Historic Surgery Aboard USS Mesa Verde — When the first surgery was conducted aboard amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) on July 16, members of Expeditionary Resuscitative Surgical System (ERSS) Team 12 made history. ERSS is one of several mobile trauma teams which were specifically created to respond to crises. The teams have the capability and equipment to deal with life-threatening emergencies and deploy to various Navy platforms as required.

#PartnershipsMatter Now and Mattered in 1991 during Operation Desert Shield — Naval History and Heritage Command provides insight to the enduring importance of maritime partnership between nations.

The In-Crowd: Disaster Relief Gets Extra Eyes from Crowdsourcing — At Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014 exercise, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored a demonstration of a crowdsourcing technology known as Tomnod to show how crowdsourcing could “speed response times to critical locations, save lives, and limit damage caused by natural disaster.” The system has already been used in some recent events, including the search for the missing Malaysian airliner.

These stories originally published by Navy News Service during August 5-8, 2014. For more Navy news, go to: www.navy.mil/.